III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 177 

Encouraging the protection of the rights of refugees. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2005 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. COLEMAN, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Encouraging the protection of the rights of refugees. 

Whereas the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 

dated July 28, 1951 (189 UST 150) (hereinafter referred 

to as the ‘‘Convention’’) and the Protocol Relating to the 

Status of Refugees done at New York January 31, 1967 

(19 UST 6223) (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Protocol’’) provide that individuals who flee a country to 

avoid persecution deserve international protection; 

Whereas such protection includes freedom from forcible return and the basic rights necessary for a refugee to live 

a free, dignified, self-reliant life, even while in exile; 

Whereas such rights, as recognized in the Convention, include 

the right to earn a livelihood, to engage in wage-employment or self-employment, to practice a profession, to own 
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property, to freedom of movement and residence, and to 

receive travel documents; 

Whereas such rights are applicable to a refugee independent 

of whether a solution is available that would permit the 

refugee to return to the country that the refugee fled; 

Whereas such rights are part of the core protection mandate 

of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; 

Whereas warehoused refugees have been confined to a camp 

or segregated settlement or otherwise deprived of their 

basic rights; 

Whereas more than 50 percent of the refugees in the world 

are effectively warehoused in a situation that has existed 

for at least 10 years; 

Whereas donor countries, including the United States, have 

typically offered less developed countries hosting refugees 

assistance if they keep refugees warehoused in camps or 

segregated settlements but have not provided adequate 

assistance to host countries that permit refugees to live 

and work among the local population; and 

Whereas warehousing refugees not only violates the rights of 

the refugees but also debilitates their humanity, often reducing the refugees to enforced idleness, dependency, 

disempowerment, and despair: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the United States Senate— 

2 (1) expresses deep appreciation and gratitude 

3 for those States which have and continue to host ref4 ugees and offer refugee resettlement; 

5 (2) denounces the practice of warehousing refu6 gees, which is the confinement of refugees to a camp 
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1 or segregated settlement or other deprivation of the 

2 refugees’ basic rights in a protracted situation, as a 

3 denial of basic human rights and a squandering of 

4 human potential; 

5 (3) urges the Secretary of State to actively pur6 sue models of refugee assistance that permit refu7 gees to enjoy all the rights recognized in the Conven8 tion and the Protocol; 

9 (4) urges the Secretary of State to encourage 

10 other donor nations and other members of the Exec11 utive Committee of the United Nations High Com12 missioner for Refugees’ Programme to shift the in13 centive structure of refugee assistance and to build 

14 mechanisms into relief and development assistance 

15 to encourage the greater enjoyment by refugees of 

16 their rights under the Convention; 

17 (5) encourages the international community, in18 cluding donor countries, host countries, and mem19 bers of the Executive Committee of the United Na20 tions High Commissioner for Refugees’ Programme, 

21 to denounce resolutely the practice of warehousing 

22 refugees in favor of allowing refugees to exercise 

23 their rights under the Convention; 

24 (6) calls upon the United Nations High Com25 missioner for Refugees to monitor refugee situations 
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1 more effectively for the realization of all the rights 

2 of refugees under the Convention, including those re3 lated to freedom of movement and the right to earn 

4 a livelihood; 

5 (7) encourages those countries that have not 

6 yet ratified the Convention or the Protocol to do so; 

7 (8) encourages those countries that have rati8 fied the Convention or the Protocol, but have done 

9 so with reservations on key articles pertaining to the 

10 right to work and freedom of movement, to remove 

11 such reservations; and 

12 (9) encourages all countries to enact legislation 

13 or promulgate policies to provide for the legal enjoy14 ment of the basic rights of refugees as outlined in 

15 the Convention. 

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